


First contact of the inappropriate kind

by Yoite



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: Andorian ale and other blue things, Archer can't hold his liquor, Drunken Shenanigans, Frenemies, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, One Shot, The thesaurus is my friend, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-25 04:09:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13826166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yoite/pseuds/Yoite
Summary: Set in S3E13 (Proving Ground). Captain Archer has a vital question.





	First contact of the inappropriate kind

**Author's Note:**

> Just a tiny one-shot since, as usual, I have fallen in love with a random and obscure pairing. I have been a Star Trek fan for a while but this is the first thing I have ever written for this fandom, so please be kind.

Andorian ale was like nothing Archer had ever tried on earth – or, indeed, any other planet. If someone had put a gun to his head and forced him to describe it he would have said it tasted like a mixture of molten cough sweets, fresh sea water and grapefruit juice, with the smell of winter mornings sprinkled on top. It was the kind of combination that should never have worked, but it did. Hell did it work.

Slowly, the luminous cerulean of the drink was starting to blur in with the slightly paler blue of the hand that kept pouring it. Archer did not remember at what point his unlikely ally had come over to sit next to him, and he recalled even less of their conversation, which mostly revolved around Shran telling him about all the ways in which andorians were superior to humans and, of course, vulcans. Archer's eyes and mind kept wandering over to something completely unrelated.

"Waif", he finally mumbled in protest, shakily catching hold of Shran's wrist as the commander of the Kumari was about to fill up his glass yet again. His skin was cool to the touch but very soft, not what Archer had expected. "Whaf are deze for?"

"What?" Shran's clear eyes narrowed suspiciously as he extracted his hand from the captain's unsure grasp.

Archer cleared his throat, trying to regain control of his speech apparatus. Deep down, he knew this wasn't at all appropriate, but the alien alcohol and his own explorative mind were in cahoots against him. Besides, this was something he had been curious about ever since he first met Shran in that vulcan temple.

"Your antennae. What are they? I mean.. what do they do?"

And on a drunken impulse, very much to both their surprise, Archer leaned forward to shamelessly grab one of the worm-like feelers.

Several things happened next, all of them so astonishing the captain instantly sobered up. The antenna, initially firm but pliant, went rock hard in his hand. A moment later, Shran's shocked face was flushed with the deepest aquamarine, his eyes darkening until they were like two splinters of furious coal. And yet he sat there perfectly still, frozen to the spot. Had the captain not known this arrogant creature any better he could have sworn that the andorian was too scared to even stir. All he managed was a low hiss.

".. don't.."

Instantly, but still far too late, Archer let go, feeling as embarrassed as his inebriated state would allow. Shran did not waste a single second as he jumped up from his seat, and for a moment the captain was sure he was about to get punched. Instead the andorian grabbed the rest of the bottle, breathing heavily, and stormed out of the room, though not without muttering something along the lines of "should have known you pink skins can't hold your liquor" as well as a few utterances the universal translator was unable to make sense of. Something told the captain they were not pleasantries.

He was left to his own devices with the fingers of his offending hand still curled, wondering what the hell had just happened.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed, reviews are always welcome. This might become a multi-chapter as I progress with the show.


End file.
